As a student at Yokohama University during the global student protest movements of 1968, Kishi Ui was strongly influenced by Japanese Mono-ha artists. These artists explored the relationship between natural and industrial materials through life-sized “land art.” A two-year work-in-progress piece by Kishi that involved digging over 15 meters of tunnel to create a cave near the school’s campus was interrupted by police suspecting terrorist activity. During this period, Kishi Ui also produced multiple paintings and a visual poetry book.
